We arrived earlier than our group, but a table wasn’t ready so we went to sit at the bar and wait. Franco came up to me immediately and was very friendly. He offered me a drink and I ordered a Bloody Mary. I received a tall glass filled to the brim with a delicious concoction that had plenty of liquor though it was made so that you could not taste it (perfect for someone like me). I have to confess though, as good as the drink was, the huge olives that he added to the drink were better. He could have given me the entire jar and I would have happily munched while waiting for my table.

After about an hour wait we were sat down at our table and were able to put in our drink orders. I was on Bloody Mary number two, but D ordered a Fuzzy Navel at my insistence (he always listens to me when I tell him what to drink…I just know). Not surprisingly his drink was fabulous. It also came in a tall glass and it tasted of peaches all the way down. For an appetizer we picked (or rather, D picked) the Fried Ravioli.

Occasionally we switch off on appetizer choices because he might want something more than me. This was the case on this visit to Franco’s. I wouldn’t say I abhor ricotta cheese, but I don’t love it. It’s not a real melty cheese so when you put it in some things I feel like you just end up with this mealy, unappealing, not too flavorful cheese taste. So, I wasn’t looking forward to these. However, despite the ricotta, these ravioli were delicious. They were lightly fried on the outside and filled with luscious, melted cheese on the inside. The dipping sauce was a mildly flavorful, but obviously homemade tomato sauce. For a reasonably priced appetizer I would have no problem ordering these again.

For dinner we went in different directions. I had Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola and Fettucini in olive oil with portabella mushrooms. D had Manicotti in meat sauce. Mine came with a simple salad with a little red onion and tomato. His came with a cup of soup. The salad was a standard salad. Everything was fresh, crisp, and had a delicious, yet simple Ranch dressing to accompany it. D’s soup must have been to his liking, because the only complaint he could muster was that he wished it would have been bigger. He had the Pasta E Fagioli, though plans to have Minestrone on our next trip to Franco’s.

Filet Mignon Francos

The Filet Mignon, while somewhat expensive was worth every single penny that D paid for it. This steak was perfectly rare (most restaurants make even the rare steak a little more done than I would like) and it melted in my mouth. With the gorgonzola cheese on top it offered this luxurious salty, cheesy, heavenly mix of meat and cheese. It was so juicy and so delicious that steak sauce was not required (and I love steak sauce). In this case, I felt the sauce would have taken away from the meat so I did not use it and I never felt anything missing by its absence. D cannot normally eat steak when he is in his wheelchair, but I gave him a bite and it literally melted in his mouth. He seemed a little sad he didn’t try and order it for himself.

The pasta was perfectly cooked and had nice flavor from the olive oil. The mushrooms were absolutely divine, as well. Though I didn’t try it, (I’m kicking myself now) I think the best bite would have been a mushroom with the steak and cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Manicotti Francos

D’s Manicotti was just what I would expected it would be once we got to this point in the meal. The sauce had meat in it, though it was very subtle. The tomato based sauce was the star of the show. It was full-bodied and stood up to the cheesy manicotti quite well. It tasted like there might have been some wine cooked into the sauce, but either way it was clearly made in-house. The two tubes of pasta were filled with a ricotta mixture and baked until the cheese was melted and the dish was hot. You couldn’t ask for more in a simple, classic pasta dish.

When it came time to have dessert, we actually ordered some! This is surprising because usually we will say we’re going to get dessert and we never make it. I think that we figured the rest of the meal had been so amazing that we couldn’t ignore the possibility of dessert. We pondered a couple options of gelato and chose peach. With that we ordered a slice of the peanut butter pie (featured in the image at the top). The gelato was flavorful and made for an amazing palette cleanser. It had a strong peach flavor, was smooth like gelato should be, and was the perfect end to a perfect meal.

I say the gelato was the end, because after taking a taste of the rich and decadent peanut butter pie we decided to wait until the very end for the gelato. The peanut butter pie was more like a peanut butter cup pie, in my opinion. When I think peanut butter pie I tend to think of the smooth, almost peanut butter silk varieties of pie. This was a thin slice with a graham cracker crust, a layer of chocolate, some peanut butter and then covered in more chocolate with crumbled bits of peanuts and peanut butter cups over top. Some whipped cream was also added to cut a smidge of the richness. While this was good, it is probably something we would not order again. Next time I am rooting for the tiramisu. Since I share my dessert with D, I suppose I will have to convince him that’s what we need to try next.

If you’re looking for a good, upscale dining experience in Dayton and you find yourself on the edge of the Oregon District, you owe it to yourself to give Franco’s a try. Franco was a delight to his customers, the food was fantastic and the atmosphere was perfect for casual or romantic dining. We will definitely be back.

Technorati Tags: Francos Italian Ristorante, Manicotti, Restaurant Review, Food, Peanut Butter Pie, Gelato, Filet Mignon, Review, Food, Fried Ravioli

I’ve never considered writing about these things until now, but once I made the decision to do it, I knew I wanted to interview R so we could see what he has to say about his problems. I know how I feel about them (I will get to that in other posts), but I wanted to put something out there about his feelings. I do not have these problems so I can only imagine how it feels. Perhaps these are normal feelings for someone with his problems.

Personally, I would hope that all people with these problems wouldn’t feel this way. If they do, I hope they are able to learn to control these issues before it is too late for them.

As for R, he is currently on about five medications that he takes daily and while surviving, this regime does not make him take an active interest in his life. He is prone to depression bouts and moments of anger, but nothing real promising has been seen in quite some time. Now that we live in Dayton, he will be getting a Psychiatrist (with a new med regime, hopefully) and a new Psychologist and hopefully they will be able to help him take a more active interest in himself and taking more control of his life.

For now, let’s see what R has to say about his situation. (Side note: The words typed came straight from R’s mouth, so they are not edited.)

What is your Diagnosis?: Okay, I have what I like to call the gruesome trio of mental disorders. A combination of bipolar disorder, Aspergers Syndrome, and a moderate to possibly severe case of OCD. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s mild.

Can you describe Bipolar in your own words?: Let’s see. Bipolar to me is (I am trying to think), where the mind goes between two different states. A state of being perky and happy to a state of being down and depressed, but there is also a third state that comes spur of the moment and that is the anger. Each state of mind has its own state of effects when put into place. The perky side does what it describes; it keeps a person happy. The depressed state of mind makes sure that the person is always sad and always thinking of things as a worst case scenario. And, then in the anger state of mind you just feel a complete sense of hatred, no sense of remorse for what you are doing at the moment. Total anger.

Can you describe Aspergers in your own words?: Aspergers is a social disorder where the patient isn’t able to pick up social cues at the right time. If they do pick it up they either do it late or too early. Not only does the patient miss social cues, but the patient is also socially awkward when in social situations. Aspergers is also a form of high functioning autism. The patient can talk and they have a hyper-ness about them, but they still original characteristics of the autistic disorder. Some might fidget for certain periods of time with certain objects. Others might flail their arms.

Do you have any struggles because of these disorders?: Yes. One of the main struggles is my mood swings, caused by Bipolar. As I said, anger is the third state of mind in Bipolar. It can range based off of how angry I get. Sometimes it is mild and somewhat manageable to where it is full out uncontrollable. Another struggle I have is my inability to time my social cues right and my social awkwardness from the Aspergers Syndrome.

Describe what your manic thoughts are like: When asked about my manic thoughts I would usually say nothing about them, but to be honest there are like some weird painting that no one can quite understand the message of. My thoughts are like those of an untamed animal. They are rapid, non-stop, whirling thoughts, just spinning around in an endless train of thought all mixed up together. The thoughts are never quite grouped together. They are in bits and pieces. Because of this I can never quite understand the full train of thought. Some thoughts have to do with the possibility about my life, while others have to do with what I could imagine would happen if I was doing something in my career; if I was writing a book, making a movie, or creating something. I try to imagine what would happen. But right when I think I can grasp the thought, it either scatterbrains or I lose the train of thought altogether.

Side note: My thoughts are like a spinning wheel that never stops. It’s like “Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows,” except that she never stops. In another scenario its like the hamster on a hamster wheel. The hamster runs as fast as he can to keep the wheel going, but when he gets tired he stops but the wheel keeps spinning and it makes the hamster dizzy. It’s endless.

Are you addicted to anything?: Yes. Technology, to be specific, computers, video games, any of the things that a usual teenager might have including cell phones – though cell phones haven’t been a problem for quite a while.

What do you do when you’re not allowed these things?: What do I do? Sometimes I try to find other ways to occupy my time. Being that I used to have these things they would waste most of my day. Now I need to find other ways to occupy my time. Sometimes I write or try to roleplay with myself. Sometimes I play little games. And sometimes when I can seize the opportunities I take these things (the ones I am not supposed to have) and I use them.

If you know you’re not supposed to take them why do you?: Because I know there is a purpose in them that I seem to find. The purpose might be writing or playing games or even trying to draw art for no reason at all. I just seem to find a purpose in using it….in a way that isn’t being used by it’s original owner. It gives it a full purpose in life.

Don’t you feel bad knowing you aren’t supposed to take the things you do?: Sometimes I feel bad, yes. Other times I don’t because sometimes I know I am not supposed to take them but I want to make sure they get utilized fully.

Is there anything that will stop you from giving in to your addiction?: When I try to think about it I think there might not be, but other times I think that I will get those things back that I have lost. That I will be able to use them again and that next time I will use them for the right reason. I would like to use them for work and business purposes.

If you know that you won’t be able to have these things until you’ve learned to control yourself, why do you continue to take them?: Because sometimes I think I will never get them back. So I take them.

When you become mad enough to become violent (usually when caught with something), how does that make you feel?: It makes me feel scared. It makes me feel scared for everybody that is around me when that spur of the moment feeling hits because I know that the third state of mind is at the point where it is uncontrollable. I know that I will hurt anyone to make sure that my secrets are not found out on whatever I have taken.

What happens when you try to fight those feelings of anger?: I try to fight the feelings but eventually I just lose the battle. I fight and then I lose. No ifs, ands, or buts. I just lose.

Do these things define you or is there more to you than just these mental problems?: No. They do not define me. They think they do but they don’t. What I am is more than what you see. What I am inside could be any of these things; a writer, a filmmaker, a video game designer or creator, but I like to think of myself as someone who’s creative mind might bring people to their knees.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers?: I don’t know. Bipolar can be uncontrollable at times. You have to pick your battles. If you pick the right battles you can get away unharmed. If you pick the wrong ones, you could end up getting hurt, though I don’t like to think of that happening.

Technorati Tags: Bipolar Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, OCD, Interview, Personal, Teenager, Medicine, Technology, Addiction

My mom always has everything together. She’s one of those super mom types. She always has the phone call made, the house clean, and the cookies made by the time I get home. Me, not so much. I usually get things done, but she might not know what I am doing so she will continue to remind me until I either go insane, get tired of it and tell her I will do it later (she doesn’t like that, but it usually buys me five minutes), or I just drop what I am doing (usually writing or homework) and do whatever she wants.

Today, mom thought she would give me a little advice. I told her I was writing it down so that I wouldn’t forget and I did. We were watching Dr. Oz and he was talking about ways to combat the possibility of heart disease, which is a growing problem for women.

Mom’s advice while watching Dr. Oz: “You’re not gonna die if you straighten up.”

Thanks, Mom. After laughing for a few minutes (and writing it down) I thought about her advice. I know she means that I need to get on a schedule and pay more attention to the world around me. However, the idea of a schedule makes me wretch like I’ve got food poisoning. I’m hoping D can help me. I am going to let him put me on a schedule (this is where his OCD comes in handy. He loves a good schedule). I am going to try to keep it, so I apologize in advance for any bitching that may occur.

God, I hate schedules. But, I am determined to show them that I can do it…and who knows, maybe I will be better off for it in the end.

Technorati Tags: Dr. Oz, Mom, Schedules, Personal, Disorganized

While I tend to be rather personal, people continue to tell me to write about my life. I don’t see what is so exciting about my life, but the things that I hear constantly (that people want me to write about) are things like the fact that I am in a long-term relationship with someone that has a disability (D has a muscle disease and is in a wheelchair), our son has Bipolar and Asperger’s Syndrome (because one mental disorder certainly isn’t enough), D is in film school so we are learning together the ins and outs of making films, I am in school for Psychology, I am a fiction writer, and I’ve been a technical writer that has written extensively on everything from Real Estate (not so much fun) to sex (really fun). We also live with my mom (or she lives with us, however you wish to look at it), and that adds something to the family dynamic, as well.

Then again, maybe it’s my activist heart (I am pro-choice, pro-death penalty/harsher punishments for habitual criminals, pro-female (but not a feminist by any means), pro-do what you want in your own bedroom, and I am all for equal rights for all our citizens. Other than that death penalty thing, I guess you’d call me a Liberal. You’d probably be right. Oh, I’m also pretty anti-religion…or at least until you’re old enough to make up your own mind and you don’t use it to show the bigoted nature that many religious people employ.

Needless to say, my stress-level is always high enough to easily explain those blood pressure pills that keep me from having a massive stroke on a daily basis. Still, I never even considered writing about myself or our life. Today all that changed (well, it’s starting to change). What that means is that everyone is ganging up on me and I am still sitting partially on the fence. Everyone has been reminding me what a great idea it would be though.

First we had D who offered words of wisdom that went something like, “If you want to get back on track you need to talk about your life. Talk about our son and all the struggles we go through.”

We had a conversation and I ignored him, like I always do. Then I told my mom what he said and she agreed (she never agrees with him…I smell sabotage!)

She said…”Maybe that would be good for you. You could vent about D, and R (our son), and me.”

That’s where she got me. I can vent about her. I love my mother, but she is the kind of person that would get a thousand Twitter followers in ten minutes for saying the most outrageous things you can think of, only to call you a hater if you said it before her. Oh, mom. How I would love to vent about you.

So, I am going to keep an open mind and I am going to listen to my mother (for once). I am just going to try to type the things that go through my mind when I want to say something, but don’t. It should be pretty interesting, to say the least.

Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as everyone seems to think you will. Well, and that it serves as the type of free therapy any woman living with a physically disabled man, a mentally disabled teenager, and a cranky mom could need. Lord knows, I need it.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Personal, Writing, Psychology, Kids, Bipolar, Aspergers, Mom, Personal

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible.

GET AN EXTRA ENTRY:
Want an extra entry? Twitter about this contest! Just click the Tweet button!

You can post the URL to your Tweet in your initial comment for this contest.

To find out about all our latest contests feel free to add us to your Twitter:

@dominickevans
@ashtynlaw

You can also get extra entries (three extra entries for each) into our contest by:

-Posting on your blog/website about out contest with a link back to LI Kids (please let us know where to find said link so we can give you an extra entry)
-Digging or Stumbling this post (list your Digg/Stumble username in your comment)
-Becoming a Member of our Facebook Fan Page
-Subscribing to our YouTube Page
-Subscribing to our RSS feed (RSS button is at the top of the page, near the right corner)
-Google Buzzing this giveaway

CLAIMING YOUR PRIZE:
Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three days, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of February 15, 2012, which means you have until February 14, 2012 at 11:59 to enter.

FROM THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Three winners will win a copy of Little Angels on DVD courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment.

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaway, DVD, Fox Home Entertainment, Kids, Preschool, Little Angels

Today’s edition of Things Heard on the Bus comes courtesy of the Project Mobility (Door to door service) bus. We boarded the van after D got out of his evening meeting (he’s on Student Government). There was another couple on the bus. While we were rather quiet, these two were talking up a storm and their conversation made me have to hold back the innocent laughter that wanted to erupt.

The conversation went something like this…

Him: “Have you ever ate at that there Waffle House?”
Her: “Mmmhmmm, Yes I have…A long time ago.”
Him: “Didja like it? Was it any good?”
Her: “I did. I liked it.”
My Inner Thought: (You must not have liked it that much, if it’s been such a long time since you’ve been there.)
Him: “Do they only serve waffles? Or do they have other stuff too?”
My Inner Thought: (Oh my god…Did he seriously just ask if Waffle House only served waffles? I can see it now…”Welcome to Waffle House we got Chocolate chip waffles, Bubblegum waffles, Waffles ala mode, Waffle stew…”)
Her: “Oh no honey, they do breakfast food and lunch stuff, too. They are the place that people go and eat after they go to the club, you know.
Him: “I might have to try them someday. Do they have stuffed waffles?”
Her: “Yep. They didn’t back when I went there, but they’ve got em now.”
My Inner Thought: (I didn’t know they had stuffed waffles. I wonder if they’ve been holding out on me. Bastards!)
Him: “I wonder what kind they got.”
Her: “You know…strawberry…”
Him: “Oh, I like strawberry..”
Her: “Cream cheese…”
Him: “Ugh, I don’t like cream cheese. Strawberry is good though.”
A momentary lull in the conversation occurs where you can see him contemplating stuffed waffles in his head via a cartoon bubble.
Him: “I might even go and get me some Bob Evans.”
Her: “You like that breakfast.”
Him: “I like the eggs and bacon…”
Her: “You eat sausage…”
Him: “Right sausage…”

This continued for the twenty-plus minutes we were on the van, but this was by far the most interesting part of the exchange, in my opinion. Other things they discussed included: making dinner, no longer taking night classes (which the male said wouldn’t be a problem because in the Spring, it wouldn’t get dark as early as in winter. She disagreed. She just really didn’t want night classes), his interest in watching Paranormal Activity 3..in the dark, and other topics I just can’t remember. At the very least, it was entertaining enough to keep me awake.

Until next time

Technorati Tags: Things Heard on the Bus, Project Mobility, Van, Waffle House, Class, Public Transportation

COMMENTS ARE MODERATED to avoid spam, so it will not show up right away. If you do not see your comment within a day then by all means leave another one. Otherwise, do not worry as we accept comments several times a day.

ENTRY GUIDELINES:
To enter you need to be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the US. If you have won a contest within the last 30 days you are not eligible.

GET AN EXTRA ENTRY:
Want an extra entry? Twitter about this contest! Just click the Tweet button!

You can post the URL to your Tweet in your initial comment for this contest.

To find out about all our latest contests feel free to add us to your Twitter:

@dominickevans
@ashtynlaw

You can also get extra entries (three extra entries for each) into our contest by:
-Posting on your blog/website about out contest with a link back to LI Kids (please let us know where to find said link so we can give you an extra entry)
-Digging or Stumbling this post (list your Digg/Stumble username in your comment)
-Becoming a Member of our Facebook Fan Page
-Subscribing to our YouTube Page
-Subscribing to our RSS feed (RSS button is at the top of the page, near the right corner)
-Google Buzzing this giveaway

CLAIMING YOUR PRIZE:
Winners will be sent an email shortly after the end of the contest. To claim your prize all you will need to do is send us your address in a reply to the congratulation email that you will receive. If we do not receive a reply from you within three days, your winnings will be forfeited and your prize will be offered to another contestant.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
We will begin emailing winners for this the week of February 7, 2012, which means you have until February 6, 2012 at 11:59 to enter.

FROM THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

Join Scout and his friends for another exciting learning adventure from the world of LeapFrog. When the pals long to learn about numbers, their magical car, Axle, whisks them away to Number Land. With the help of a new friend, Max, the pals meet all the numbers in the land and build early numeracy skills. Then it¹s time to help the residents of Number Land plan a surprise birthday party for Max. It all adds up to plenty of fun and adventure as kids sing and count their way through Number Land with Scout & Friends!

Technorati Tags: Contest, Giveaway, DVD, Leapfrog, Kids, Preschool, Numberland, Scout

Note: While LI Kids does not normally post faith-based products or posts, we couldn’t pass this one up because these Little Angels were just too cute!

I hope you enjoy the activity sheets and the kids enjoy themselves when using them. Check back soon as we will be running a contest for a chance to win one of three Little Angels DVDs.

Technorati Tags: Activity Sheets, Little Angels, Printables, Fox Home Entertainment, Kids, Cartoon, Pre-School

All you have to do is Like our page to be entered in the contest. Once we reach our 5,000th fan, we will be drawing a name from a fishbowl off all of the people who Like our Facebook page. Additionally, we will add your name in again if you follow our accounts on Twitter. Just leave a comment letting us know you have followed us or already do follow us. We will be verifying comments, so please let us know what name you are following us under. Each follow gets you one extra entry into our fishbowl drawing! You can have a total of two extra entries, upping your chance of winning the prize.

The Twitters you can follow for extra entries are:

@ashtynlaw
@dominickevans

Get ONE extra entry added to our fishbowl by sharing this post on your Facebook or Twitter! Please include the URL of your share in a comment below.

This is a full version of Photoshop CS 5.5. It is not a student edition or anything like that. It is brand new for Apple Mac Computers and it comes in its box with all software and serial numbers needed to install it. We look forward to your entries into this great contest!

Open to U.S. residents only, please!

Again: TO ENTER GO TO THE FOLLOWING URL AND LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Literary-Illusions/108659469352

This widget can help you enter!

Technorati Tags: Photoshop, Adobe, Contest, Giveaway, Free, Twitter, Facebook, Fan, Like, Software, Win

Now before we get to the recipe, I am going to show you the cast of characters for the sauce and discuss wings. You can buy with the entire wing or the separated wing parts (the drummies and the sections). I prefer all drummies if I can find them, but definitely choose to buy the separated wings over separating them myself.

I know some people that make them altogether. I don’t recommend that because you end up with that wing tip that you cannot eat so it’s just a pointless feature on the plate. If you live in the Dayton area you can usually find some excellent wings at Dorothy Lane. Other options include EarthFare or in a pinch some commercial chains carry Tyson All Natural wings, which aren’t too bad.

Onto the sauce:

The sauce ingredients are pretty straight forward.

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

You end up with something that looks like this:

For the wing prep, I do things two ways. I fry the wings first in a good canola or peanut oil to get them crispy. After they have fried, I drop them in the sauce for a few minutes, lift them into a baking dish, drop the rest of the sauce over them, and finish them in the oven. They come out incredibly crispy, moist, colorful, and amazingly delicious. I made the sauce because I love mild wings and I love garlic wings. This gives you the vinegar-y bite from the hot sauce with the strong sharp flavor of a good garlic wing. You can eat them without sauce, as I do not find them too hot, though they are always better with some fresh bleu cheese dip (recipe to follow).

Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. I try not to do more than that because the fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

With the wings goes Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Blue Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

Complete directions are listed below! I hope you enjoy and you come back to let me know how they turned out for you

Buffalo Garlic Wings

Sauce Ingredients:
Squeeze Garlic (Recommended: Spice World)
Hot Sauce (Recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
Butter (Recommended: I Can’t Believe It’s Not…)
Cracked Black Pepper

Directions:
Melt a 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. With the butter, mix roughly a half a bottle of Hot Sauce (more or less depending on taste). Add in 1-2 TBSP Cracked Black and 1-2 healthy squirt of the garlic. Mix up and set aside.

Wing Cooking/Prep:
Before frying the wings I just dust them with some simple salt, pepper, and garlic powder before putting them in the hot oil.

Based on the size of your pan (I use a large Marcus Sammuelson pan that is to die for) you can cook anywhere from 4-8 wings at a time. The fuller your pan, the lower your oil temperature will get. As this affects the grease factor in the wings, I would rather cook less and have them taste better. Leave them in for about 20-25 minutes until they begin gaining a light brown color and begin to have that crunchy, crispy skin on them.

Next, they are dropped in the sauce and then put on the pan to bake.

Bake the wings at 350 for 15 minutes. This gives the earlier batches a nice warm-up and it gives the sauce a good chance to soak into the wings.

Bleu Cheese Dip Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Mayo (Recommended: Hellman’s)
2 Cups Sour Cream (Recommended: Something Organic/All Natural)
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Cup (to taste) Bleu Cheese Crumbles

Directions:
In a bowl mix together two cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayo, a pinch of salt, 1-2 TBSPs both black pepper and garlic and mix together until well incorporated. Add as much Bleu Cheese as is necessary to get to your desired cheesy-ness. I usually go with 1/2-1 Cup of fine crumbles with a few bigger chunks in there. If you find it is too thick for your liking you can always add a small splash of milk to thin it up, but for wings, I like it chunky.

EAT!

Technorati Tags: Recipes, Food, Wings, Buffalo Garlic, Fried Wings, Bleu Cheese Dip, Baked, Mayo, Sour Cream, Dorothy Lane